John Pombe Magufuli; Honouring His Legacy

On 17 March 2021, Tanzania (“Country”) was plunged into a sombre mood upon announcement of the demise of the fifth phase president, John Pombe Magufuli (“Magufuli”) who succumbed to heart complications. Thereafter, an outpouring of tributes and condolences from the Citizenry and prominent leaders across the globe ensued.

In paying tribute to Magufuli, Lazarus Chakwera (President of Malawi) asserted Magufuli’s vital contribution in attainment of economic resurgence. The Malawi president was quoted “Magufuli was a towering symbol of Africa’s economic resurgence…. we pray for uncommon strength and fortitude for the people of Tanzania and their government”.

Magufuli was indeed a towering symbol and champion of economic resurgence as evidenced by attainment of Low Middle Income Country Status (LMIC) five years ahead of the scheduled timeframe (the Country envisaged LMIC attainment in 2025) among other achievements. Further, Magufuli apparently understood the role of taxation in attaining such economic resurgence as elucidated below;

·        Fair, Simple and Friendly Tax System, Magufuli decried unfair and unrealistic tax evaluations imposed by the taxman on business community. He further urged the adoption of a friendly tax system for purposes of promoting voluntary compliance.

·         Tax Base Expansion, Magufuli was a true advocate for tax base expansion as a viable approach to ease the tax burden shouldered by the few in the Country. It is estimated that only 2.7 Million Tanzanians out of 55 Million Tanzanians shoulder the tax burden in the Country.

·         Tax Transformations, over his presidency’s tenure several tax digital innovations or tax digital improvements were adopted and made i.e. Automation of Tax Returns which intended for promotion of voluntary compliance.

·        Active Collaboration, Magufuli championed the active collaboration between the business community and taxman as evidenced through his periodic meetings with such business community to understand the hurdles marring their operations and acting thereon.

·        Dispute Resolutions, Magufuli urged tax dispute resolution bodies in form of Tax Revenue Appeals Board (TRAB), Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal (TRAT) and Court of Appeal (CAT) to fast track the lodged appeals pending in their jurisdiction.

·        Tax evasion loopholes, Magufuli oversaw the upward rise in revenue collections as evidenced by monthly collection record of TZS 2.088 Trillion attained in December 2020 which is highest amount collected since the commencement of operations in July 1,1996.

It is now the responsibility of all tax stakeholders to preserve and ensure continuity of the taxation policies and strategies championed by Magufuli as such would be the best way to honour his legacy.

Benedict is a tax enthusiast and the views expressed herein are his own personal views.